Three Russian officials join A7 board as payment firm expands cross-border settlement role

Reuters reported that Russia’s government press office said Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev, and First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov have joined the board of Russian payments company A7. The appointment comes as A7 takes on a larger role in keeping trade flows running between Russia and partners including China, while Western sanctions continue to disrupt traditional banking channels. A7 was founded in 2024 by PSB, a Russian bank that mainly serves the defense sector, to provide cross-border settlement services for Russian companies. According to A7, as much as 80% of Russia’s foreign trade payments are now being completed through alternative channels because conventional banks have struggled to process many Russia-linked transactions, especially payments tied to trade with China, Russia’s largest trading partner. The company has already been hit by multiple Western sanctions. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned A7 on Oct. 1, saying it built a global network of affiliated companies that disguised payments linked to sanctioned sectors and individuals as ordinary commercial activity. A7 settles transactions using the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5, launched in Kyrgyzstan in 2025 and backed by ruble deposits held at PSB. PSB estimates cumulative A7A5 transaction volume has reached about $140 billion.